25 hurt in fiery Las Vegas commuter bus crash

updated 9:09 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2008

LAS VEGAS - A commuter bus carrying workers to a casino drove off a freeway, crashed into a roadside barricade and caught fire on Thursday, injuring at least 25 people, three critically, authorities said.

No one was killed in the crash on Interstate 15 about seven miles from the town of Primm, which is along Nevada's southwest border with California. The bus was left a charred metal skeleton.

"I don't know what all the injuries were, but thanks to people who witnessed the crash and stopped, and a quick emergency response, there are no fatalities," said Trooper Kevin Honea, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Public Safety.

The bus was carrying 30 workers to a casino in Primm when it ran off the side of the freeway, struck a guardrail and slid more than 600 feet along a retaining wall, Honea said.

Its fuel tanks were breached in the crash before the bus reached the end of the retaining wall and tipped over in the desert next to the three-lane highway.

Honea said it appeared most people got off the bus before fuel ignited and the bus was engulfed in flames.

Three critically injured people were flown by medical helicopter to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, said Scott Allison, a Clark County fire department spokesman.

Twenty-two other people were taken by ambulance to hospitals. They were in stable condition, Allison said.

The bus driver was treated for second-degree burns to his legs, Allison said. He was not identified.

Honea said the driver faced questioning by investigators, who did not immediately know what caused the crash.

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